Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the internet...a slightly abbreviated Groundhog Day edition!

...At last Friday night's Black Maria screening I enjoyed becoming reacquainted with Emily of The Vintage Cameo, who I had first met at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Later in the weekend Emily covered the Night on Broadway event in Downtown Los Angeles, which sounds terrific. There was also coverage at Curbed L.A., including great shots of theater interiors. When I was on the TCM Bus Tour last March I was able to photograph some of the area theaters; that's my photo of the Palace on the left.

...BAD MEN OF TOMBSTONE (1949), an upcoming Warner Archive release, looks especially fun, starring Barry Sullivan, Marjorie Reynolds, and Broderick Crawford, with a supporting cast including Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and a personal favorite, Louis Jean Heydt.

...Last week Lou Lumenick Tweeted the link to his 2007 interview with Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell. That was timely as I had just seen Cromwell's mother, Kay Johnson, starring in a pair of Cecil B. DeMille films, MADAM SATAN (1930) and DYNAMITE (1929). MADAM SATAN in particular has a lot of fans to perhaps others will enjoy revisiting his column.

...Olive Films does terrific releases of classic-era films, so I was curious to note that they have also just released a relatively recent film on Blu-ray, the warm RETURN TO ME (2000) starring David Duchovny, Minnie Driver, Bonnie Hunt, and Jim Belushi, as well as Carroll O'Connor, Robert Loggia, and Joely Richardson. Very much recommended.

...Some older STAR WARS figurines recently sold for a lot of money...hmmm, I wonder what my "MIB" EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Han Solo is worth?

...Entertainment Weekly has published a new interview with 98-year-old Olivia de Havilland.

...I enjoyed Vienna's screen shots of some favorite happy movie endings at Vienna's Classic Hollywood.

...I was quite fond of the 1985-87 prime time soap opera THE COLBYS, which had an amazing cast including Charlton Heston, Barbara Stanwyck, and Ricardo Montalban. The complete series is now coming to DVD in May! (Via Will McKinley.)

...Raquel has given the new Brent Phillips book CHARLES WALTERS: THE DIRECTOR WHO MADE HOLLYWOOD DANCE, an enthusiastic review at Out of the Past. I just received a copy in the last few days and will be reviewing it in the future.

...Curbed L.A. has photos of the original locations of some famous fast food chains...funny thing, by sheer chance we drove past the odd-looking original Fatburger stand on Western Avenue last Friday night.

...Here's Toby's review of David Brian, Neville Brand, and Richard Long in FURY AT GUNSIGHT PASS (1956) at 50 Westerns From the 50s. Sure sounds like a good one to check out.

...Attention Southern Californians: There's still another month ahead in UCLA's great series celebrating Cecil B. DeMille! Check my post for details including the link to the screening schedule. And stay tuned for information on UCLA's Festival of Preservation, coming in March!

...A year ago I spent Groundhog Day seeing one of my favorite films on a big screen for the first time. Here's a look back at what makes the film so special, as well as a link to Jonah Goldberg's classic column on the movie.

Have a great week!